Asheville, NC Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Under Sec. 7-5-13 of the Asheville City Code, no land-disturbing activity in the city may begin until an erosion control plan has been reviewed and approved. An application for the required grading permit must be filed with the development and permitting center at least 30 days before the proposed disturbance starts, accompanied by the permit fee set in the City of Asheville Fees and Charges Manual. The code splits plans into two tiers by size: a formal erosion control plan is mandatory whenever more than 10,000 square feet will be uncovered, while smaller projects file only a sketch plan.

Once submitted, the erosion and sedimentation control staff runs an initial review against the technical standards in Sec. 7-12-2, then forwards one copy of every formal plan to the Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District. Sketch plans get a ten-working-day turnaround; formal plans get 30 days for an initial decision (approved, approved with modifications, approved with performance reservations, or disapproved) and 15 days to act on any revised submittal. If staff misses those deadlines on a complete application, the applicant's permit fee is refunded, though the review itself continues.

No public hearing, board review, or variance is available: Sec. 7-5-13(g) bars any variance from the plan-approval requirement itself. A denied or conditioned plan can be appealed only to the city's erosion control plan review committee under Sec. 7-12-2(s), and the applicant must demand that hearing in writing within 15 days of receiving the staff decision. Once issued, a grading permit is good for 12 months from issuance; if work is not finished in that window the permit expires and a new application is required, unless the original plan already laid out a phased schedule, in which case the 12-month clock resets for each phase.